56FordGuy

I'd rather be lucky than good any day of the week... ;)

You know how awkward it is trying to pull a big Kurt vise with swivel base out of a dumpster by yourself?

Probably ruined a shirt in extracting both vises. You should feel bad for me. :)

 

I'll trade you a shirt for just one of the vises. :)

Thanks for the ideas guys. I've never tried to make a curtain rod this long, if that isn't obvious.  :P

 

I looked at some tube today that might work. Mr. Coke's suggestion of putting a vertical bar along the pipe is an excellent idea, and if the pipe itself isn't structurally sufficient. Sounds like it should be though! 

Alright y'all, I'm looking for some ideas on this one. I have a customer that wants a curtain rod for a sliding glass door. The door measure 80" wide, and the overall length of the rod would be 92". 

 

The catch is they want to be able to slide the curtain all the way to either side. That means the wall brackets have to go on the very ends with no center support. I'm having trouble coming up with something that can span an almost 8' distance without sagging in the middle. Solid rod is out, and I'm not sure tube would make that stretch either. It might, but I'm not sure what diameter and wall thickness it would have to be. 

 

Any other suggestions?

Surely you don't mean you paid $100 for all of that. That would be a deal of a lifetime!

Congratulations, Dave! That's certainly a well deserved honor. 

The concrete footers would also allow for a taller building with the timbers you already have. 

Does he have any neighbors that might have a tractor or skid steer? When I moved one, we had a neighbor come over and he loaded it with a hay spear on the loader. 

They're both here on IFI. Dave is FieryFurnace, and Chase posts as Trip. 

 

A little while back I had the opportunity to take a class from Dave and we made a roughly 4 lb hammer. I learned an awful lot, and had a great time. Can't say enough good things about the experience. Got a nice hammer, too! :)

I have the Blacksmith version. Almost went for the Metalsmith, but decided to use my coal forge for anything too large or awkward.

 

Keep us updated on how your forge works out for you. I've burned through two 100 lb tanks with mine, it's had a few small hiccups so far but nothing too bad. 

If you're near Lebanon, every Tuesday night the Fiddler's Grove Blacksmith Association holds beginner's classes at the Wilson County Fairgrounds from 7-9:00 PM. 

 

You'll cut quite a bit off the learning curve by working with other smiths. I'd highly recommend you check out the classes if you're in the area. :)

The absolute best way for you to learn what you want to know is to work with some other blacksmiths. 

 

There are a handful of smithing groups around middle TN, including the FIddler's Grove Blacksmith Association in Lebanon/ Wilson County. They hold beginner's classes every Tuesday night (excluding holidays) from 7:00-9:00 PM in the blacksmith shop at the Wilson County Fairgrounds. 

 

I believe there is also a smith's group in Murfreesboro, and one near Smithville. Those would be worth checking into as well, if you're closer to those areas. 

I'm not Thomas, but yes. Just call one or two local scrap yards and find out the going rate for scrap steel.

It might also help to mention why you want it. A lot of places with steel drops or scraps get hounded by scrap metal guys, and get tired of being asked. If you make sure they know you actually want to use it and not just haul it off for scrap you may have better luck.

Those tongs look good!

If you're scrolling small material, does it try to slide into the wider opening in the scroll tongs?

When we pull them at work, we often have to whack the outer end of the axle shaft with a hammer to get it to pop loose. Leave one or two of the bolts in, but loose when you do that. Keeps the axle from flying all the way out. Expect it to leak some oil once the seal on the end of the axle breaks, usually less than a quart.

I've got a Reed 105 out in the shop. The 106 looks good!

Looks pretty good!

Seems like I've talked to you somewhere before, Spots. :)

Nice to see you over here!

Wheels can be attached so that they are quick to remove and get out of the way. Think about how the wheels on a hand-truck don't actually touch the ground until you tip the unit back a few degrees.... and duplicate that on the two back legs. Then, all you need is a socket on the front leg that you can plug a handle into.

Did that make sense?

Yes, it did. That's a great idea. Thanks! I could weld a socket on the front leg, running parallel to the leg. A handle could slide into that, and slide out when not needed. The wheels could work just like the hand truck wheels you mentioned, sitting above the floor until tipped. A simple pin could hold the axle in place.

Thanks y'all! I'm pretty happy with it, but every time I look at it I see little things that could be better. I've been told I'm my own worst critic sometimes. :lol:

I'm planning to bend some 3/8" round stock and weld to the stand to hold a hammer and perhaps some hardy tools. I don't want to put too much around the top plate, so I'm considering attaching them to the side of the legs. I haven't completely decided yet, I'd welcome any input.

I'm in the same situation as you, forging outside. I don't have a good place here to bolt the stand down, and still have room to work around it. We're planning to move before long, so I really can't build a dedicated smithy yet either. The stand is already pretty heavy, it will only be heavier with sand in the legs. I have a pallet jack, so I would like to use that to move it around. I thought about putting in a cross piece to tie the legs together just a couple of inches off the floor. That would allow me to lift it by sliding one leg of the pallet jack under it, but I don't want to do that yet. I'm afraid a crossbeam that low might get in the way when trying to work around the anvil. I could be wrong, but I haven't got enough experience on it yet to really know.

I took my first class with a local blacksmithing group last week, and that inspired me to make time to finish the stand for my anvil. I bought the Hay Budden a few months ago, it's been sitting in my shop unused. It's about 130 lbs according to the gentleman I bought it from, which seems about right. I cleaned it up a bit today while working on the stand, I need to write down the numbers on it to try and figure out the age. The horn is a little misshapen, but the ring and rebound are great.

The stand consists of a 9x15x3/4" top plate. The legs are 4x4x1/2", on an 8* angle from vertical. The feet are 1/2" plate, with holes drilled in the bottom so I can fill the legs with sand and oil. I need to pick up a pipe thread tap for that and I'll be set, other than adding some tool holders. In addition to the side brackets, there's a hold down on each end that bolts to the top plate. I plan to put either silicone caulk or maybe some asphalt paper underneath the anvil to quieten the ring. I took a lot of my design ideas from various stands I've seen here, and overall I'm pretty happy with how it came out. If I did another one I might change a few things, mostly a thicker top plate cut to match the base of the anvil a bit better and move the legs in closer. I want to get some time working on this one before changing anything, though.

I have completed my smithy, but I want to work with some experienced blacksmiths first, instead of possibly teaching myself bad habits right out of the gate.

Since we're practically neighbors and getting into blacksmithing at the same time, it would be great to have someone local to work with on occasion.

That's about where I am. Don't forget that the Fiddler's Grove group is usually demonstrating during the Wilson County fair! That's the sole reason we've gone to the fair the last couple of years, yet I still took my time getting into it on my own. It would be nice to have someone local to work with.

Well, I appreciate the input. It's not what I was hoping to hear, but unfortunately it's kind of what I expected. I've been looking at alternatives, both in anvils for sale locally along with other things I can use. I've got a couple of old forklift forks, and found an article through here (Mr. Powers, I believe you posted it a while back). I plan on doing something along those lines until I find a 'proper' anvil. I'm also going to swing by my steel supplier and see if they might have a large block in the scrap bin that I could get for a reasonable price.

As for my ASO, I'll use it as a hardy holder until a 'real' anvil comes along. Then I suppose it'll be turned into a doorstop, or maybe I'll finish the yard art project that someone else started on it. :lol:

Thanks for the welcome, y'all!

I'm going to check into the Fiddler's Grove group in the next couple of days, a friend of mine is involved with them. I picked up a small forge today, so I can take my time building the larger one I have planned. Also met another smith that isn't too far away that I hope to be able to learn some things from.

Just wanted to take a moment and say hello. After a lifelong interest in metalworking, I've finally decided to actually try blacksmithing. My dad got me started welding when I was about 10, and not long after I remember trying to heat up a piece of rebar in the charcoal grill so I could hit it with a claw hammer. :) Blacksmithing has always interested me, but for some reason I never pursued it. Even after finding some friends that are accomplished smiths, it took a few years for me to decide to jump in. I've been reading on here and a few books, and have acquired a lot of the components I need to get a forge set up. Hopefully before long I'll have something to show for it, if nothing more than the fun I had turning otherwise useful metal into knots of scrap. :lol: